Portraits of Hunger

In Thane Tribal Belt of Jawhar in rural Maharashtra, tens of thousands live without clean water, adequate sanitation, electricity, and proper food supplies.

Victims of entrenched government corruption and dwindling viable land, the "primitives," as they are referred to, suffer from widespread undernutrition and high-grade malnutrition.

Children in these tiny secluded villages roam unattended, with as many as five children living to a hut. Parents often migrate to nearby cities for illegal quarrying jobs that pay meager wages.

Education is a rare luxury for these children. Although the Indian government has made advances in reducing malnutrition related fatalities, most financial support for services is swallowed in the unchecked bureaucracy, robbing the children of their health and future.